There’s a crisis in impulse buying – but behavioral science has a fix

Figures can be deceptive. In recent months, CPG companies’ financial results have remained outwardly positive, thanks in no small part to inflation. But the reality behind the figures is worrying. Volume sales are falling, as shoppers trade down and adopt less impulsive behaviours. It’s time for CPG brands to act. And as a behavioral scientist, I believe finding a fix is about creating a real connection with consumers. Because when brands make meaningful connections with consumers, they can reach beyond rational choices and spark those all-important impulses.

Values, attention, senses

Even when money’s tight, consumers don’t shop purely on price. They deploy mental accounting to weigh up what’s worth spending money on – and a large part of that is how well brands align with their values. Knowing who you’re targeting and authentically promoting relevant values at a brand, packaging, and point-of-purchase level is pivotal to disrupting trading-down behaviors. It also helps make your brand room in your audience’s mental ledger.

Marketers need to spark, or reignite, connections – fast. In the age of TikTok, where super short videos make maximum impact, the average attention span has been cited as just 8.25 seconds. This reflects what many consumers expect from today’s brands. And playing to it means making a meaningful impression in seconds.

The current trend for short-form audiovisual content designed for instant sensory and emotional impact is one rooted in behavioral science – and it’s giving brands a new way to accelerate impulse sales. Sensory videos work because feelings can override logic when choosing CPG. Research by brand consultant Martin Lindstrom found media that appeals to the senses can increase impact and engagement by more than 70% – exactly what CPG brands need.

By creating vivid mental images that emphasize product features, sensory-rich videos can activate consumers’ predictive processing mechanisms. This in turn builds anticipation of the pleasure they’ll experience when they eat or drink the product – a phenomenon called anticipatory hedonia, aka wanting.

As well as working on that instinctive level, this kind of video boosts cognitive fluency – the ease with which people’s brains understand a message. They can be used to signal consumer-aligned associations – and to show products in people’s hands, giving shoppers the confidence to be as impulsive online as in-store.

The result? Products feel more tangible, resonate emotionally, stimulate craving, and – ultimately – spark impulse buys.

Appeal to the feel

This approach is gaining real traction with leading brands. They are using short-form sensory video to bring product benefits to life, building confidence and triggering desire.

AB InBev famously harnessed the power of ASMR (and Zoe Kravitz) in their Super Bowl ad for Michelob Ultra Pure Gold, creating one of the most talked about ads of recent times – and a significant sales impact. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola’s ‘Try Not To Hear This’ campaign used the senses to show customers how instinctive their connection with the brand is.

Sensory video has the potential to be a game-changer. Not just on social, YouTube, or TV – but increasingly, at point of purchase too. The final moments of a consumer’s online purchase journey are volatile. Google research found that our brand of choice can be ousted at the last minute by ‘charging’ – a range of tactics used for embellishing a product description page (PDP).

A huge opportunity now exists to use multi-sensory techniques to engage online shoppers in those volatile final moments and trigger impulse buys. Video is already a regular PDP feature on platforms like Amazon and ASOS. But with so much potential for CPG, we anticipate seeing sensory-led, impulse-triggering videos on supermarket PDPs soon too.

As well as giving brands a new way to engage consumers at point of purchase, it promises retailers a new level of service and revenue stream that they can easily leverage.

Impulse buying may be under threat, but that’s sparking innovation in how brands connect with consumers. While global players are already making huge strides, harnessing short-form sensory tactics throughout the consumer journey has the power to help all kinds of brands connect, drive sales, and to fight back.